Beardie won't move, eat or drink

[hayleyd97]

Hi,
I got my beardie from a woman around 6 weeks ago who told me he was a 'lazy' lizard and she had always hand fed him from a baby. When I got him home I noticed his beard was really dark, and still to this day it's the same colour, nearly black. He has never ate much, he doesn't hunt his food and Over the past 3 weeks I have had to force food in his mouth for him to eat anything. He stays in the same spot in his viv all the time, except for when he goes to his heat spot to bask. When I get him out of his viv to have a play, he doesn't move on the floor and just whips his tail at me so I've started to leave him for the past week as I didn't want to cause him any stress. I coat any veg and fruit I give him in calcium powder, and bath him once a week. He poo's quite regularly so I know he's not impacted with anything, and he has reptile carpet on the base of his viv anyway. I love my little guy and just want to make sure he's okay and not in any pain. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you x

 

[CooperDragon]

The black beard for an extended period is a sign of stress or sickness in a lot of cases. While the adults don't always scoot around as much as the younger ones do, he should be showing some signs of activity and alertness. Have you been monitoring his weight? I suggest doing that as weight loss can be another sign of sickness. What kind of lights are you using and what are the temperatures in his enclosure? If his environment is off it could cause lethargic behavior and sickness. It may be worth bringing him to an experienced reptile vet along with a fresh sample of poop so it can be tested for parasites.

 

[hayleyd97]

The black beard for an extended period is a sign of stress or sickness in a lot of cases. While the adults don't always scoot around as much as the younger ones do, he should be showing some signs of activity and alertness. Have you been monitoring his weight? I suggest doing that as weight loss can be another sign of sickness. What kind of lights are you using and what are the temperatures in his enclosure? If his environment is off it could cause lethargic behavior and sickness. It may be worth bringing him to an experienced reptile vet along with a fresh sample of poop so it can be tested for parasites.

He doesn't appear to have lost any weight that I can tell from looking at him. He has a 20 watt 10.0 reptiglow(?) UV light that was with him when I got him from his former owner, and he has a 40watt basking spot light, but he usually moves away from his basking spot as if he is too warm after a while. One side of his viv is around 35-40 degrees celcius (it changes due to weather and how warm my house is) and the other side is about 27 degrees celcius. I took him to a vet about 2 weeks ago and she didn't seem to have any concerns, though I'm not sure on whether she specialised in reptiles as it was the vet I take my dog too aswell. Thank you for your advice x

 

[CooperDragon]

The temperatures are just about right, so that's good. How big is the enclosure? That UVB tube is OK for a small tank but not really enough for a tank big enough for an adult. It has an optimal range at about 15-20cm above the basking area and needs to be mounted with no screen or plastic in between the bulb and basking area. I suggest picking up a T5 UVB light but the size will vary depending on the dimensions of your enclosure. Arcadia makes a really nice bulb and ballast that would be worth investing in. Are you in the UK?

 

[hayleyd97]

The temperatures are just about right, so that's good. How big is the enclosure? That UVB tube is OK for a small tank but not really enough for a tank big enough for an adult. It has an optimal range at about 15-20cm above the basking area and needs to be mounted with no screen or plastic in between the bulb and basking area. I suggest picking up a T5 UVB light but the size will vary depending on the dimensions of your enclosure. Arcadia makes a really nice bulb and ballast that would be worth investing in. Are you in the UK?

his viv is about 3ft, however he is crossed with a rankin and he is very small compared to your average beardie size! Yes I am in the UK! thank you

 

[CooperDragon]

For a 3ft viv I suggest a 22' T5 bulb and controller. Swell Reptiles carries them in the UK. These can be mounted about 30-36cm above the basking area. Perhaps a boost of UVB light will help out.

 

[hayleyd97]

For a 3ft viv I suggest a 22' T5 bulb and controller. Swell Reptiles carries them in the UK. These can be mounted about 30-36cm above the basking area. Perhaps a boost of UVB light will help out.

Thank you, I'll give it a go! After coming home from work today he was in the same position he was in when I left (left at 11:30am and came back at 8pm) and doesn't seem to be any better in himself, if anything he seems a little worse i seen online I can feed him baby food as a last resort to try and get him to eat something, is this okay? he needs to eat but he really hates being force fed food x

 

[CooperDragon]

Yes, you can provide baby food via plastic syringe or just dropping a little on his nose to see if he'll lick it up. I've had the best luck with plain green beans, squash, and sweet potato.

 

[hayleyd97]

Yes, you can provide baby food via plastic syringe or just dropping a little on his nose to see if he'll lick it up. I've had the best luck with plain green beans, squash, and sweet potato.

Thank you, I'm going to get some after work and try him with that later on